A Midsummer Night’s Dream is a play written by William Shakespeare. The play is set in the woods near Athens, and follows the adventures of several young lovers.
Scene V of A Midsummer Night’s Dream is one of the most famous scenes in the play. In this scene, Titania, the Queen of the Fairies, falls in love with Bottom, a foolish weaver who has been turned into an ass by Puck. Titania and Bottom are later married by Oberon, King of the Fairies.
Strange, but not untrue. I will never believe These antic fables nor these fairy toys. Lovers and madmen have such seething brains That they apprehend more than cool reason can comprehend. All three are of the imagination compactly packed. More devils may be seen than there are in all hell: That is the lover. The lover, all as frantic, Sees Helen’s beauty in a brow of Egypt.
The poet’s eye, in fine frenzy rolling, Doth glance from heaven to earth, from earth to heaven; And as imagination bodies forth The forms of things unknown, the poet’s pen Turns them to shapes and gives to airy nothing A local habitation and a name. Such is the force of magic and of wit.
In A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Theseus is questioning the validity of what he is seeing. He doesn’t believe in the fairy world and finds it all to be strange and untrue. Lovers and madmen are able to see things that make sense to them, but don’t make sense to others. They are able to tap into a different level of thinking and imagination. This is what allows them to see things that others can’t.
The lunatic, the lover, and the poet are all able to use their imaginations in different ways, which leads to different results. The lunatic sees more devils than there are in Hell, while the lover sees Helen’s beauty in every Egyptian forehead. Lastly, the poet’s eye darts back and forth between Heaven and Earth, giving things a name and a place. This is the power of magic and wit – to take something that is unknown and make it known.
In this scene, the poet is describing how strong imagination can be. If it wants to feel joy, it can find a bringer of that joy. And if it’s afraid in the night, it can imagine a bush as a bear. This shows how powerful the imagination can be.
In the fifth scene of A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Theseus expresses his doubt in the truthfulness of the lover’s account of their night in the woods. He says that he has no confidence in lovers’ or songwriters’ ravings, since they are just as likely as madmen to be torn away from reason.
The last section of the play, the lovers’ debate, is followed by a monologue from Hermia in which she attempts to explain her actions and claim for Lysander’s love despite his abandonment. This hallucinatory episode occurs shortly after the resolution of the lovers’ conflict. However, as he bows to the result of the night’s tumultuous events, Theseus allows Hermia, Lysander, Helena, and Demetrius to marry where their hearts desire.
The intervention of Puck, and the general light-headedness of the night, have led to this change in fortunes. In Scene V, Theseus ponders the events of the previous night and finds them difficult to believe. He wonders how anything good could come from a night that was full of madness and confusion. He suspects that the lovers are only telling him what he wants to hear and that they are not really in love with each other.
Theseus is not convinced by the story that the lovers were telling him and he thinks that they are just making it all up. However, he decides to let them get married anyway because he is influenced by the events of the night and because Puck has caused everything to change.
This is a significant subject in the drama. Theseus is also a lover, but his relationship with Hippolyta is motivated by the harsh reality of conflict, “Hippolyta, I wooed thee with my sword and obtained thy love by doing thee injuries…”(I,i,16-17). He wants to marry her as quickly as possible because he believes that marriage is where reason and judgement reign supreme. He conquers his bride’s hand through action rather than compliments or kisses inspired by her appearance.
In the world of A Midsummer Night’s Dream, love is a powerful force that can blur the lines between reality and fantasy. Theseus represents the rational world where reason prevails over passion. In this scene, Shakespeare is exploring the dichotomy between the irrational and rational worlds.
The play A Midsummer Night’s Dream is about the power of love. It is a comedy that explores the different aspects of love. Theseus is in love with Hippolyta, but his love is based on reason rather than passion. He wants to marry her because she is his equal, not because he is swept away by her beauty. In this scene, Shakespeare is exploring the conflict between love and reason. The irrational world of love is in conflict with the rational world of Theseus. In the end, love prevails and Theseus acknowledges that it is a force that cannot be ignored.
In Scene V of A Midsummer Night’s Dream, by William Shakespeare, we revisit this idea. Lysander has just accused Hermia of being unfaithful to him with Demetrius. We see the conflict between Lysander and Hermia as Theseus tries to get to the bottom of the matter.
In his rebuke of Lysander, Theseus makes it clear that he believes that the eyes of lovers are not to be trusted: “And you, my fair Hippolyta, / To go with me to Athens? No; my dear Hippolyta, / I know you better than this play does.”(II,I she,269-272). He is saying that he knows her better than the characters in the play do, and that she would not act in such a way.
This conflict between Lysander and Hermia is important because it sets up the rest of the scene. Lysander is so hurt by Hermia’s supposed betrayal that he refuses to listen to her explanation. Demetrius then takes the opportunity to tell Theseus that he also loves Hermia. In effect, Demetrius is trying to take advantage of the situation and win favour with Theseus.
Hermia is able to see through this ploy, however, and tells Theseus that she will marry whoever she pleases. This leads to the famous line “either I must die or live in your displeasure”(III,ii,367). In the end, Theseus agrees to let Hermia marry whomever she pleases, but only if she swears to obey him. This scene is important because it sets up the conflict between Lysander and Demetrius that will be resolved in the next scene.
